Praetor and Probatio
by mizutani asuna
Summary: Reyna has always wanted to be like Hylla: strong, smart, and in control. Unfortunately, expressing herself was never her strong point. Her emotions remain beyond her comprehension, and when Jason pays a visit, her defenses collapse. Why can't that stupid son of Jupiter mind his own business? Femslash.


**A/N:** Written for Free Week, over at Tumblr's shipweeks. Takes place pre-TLH.

**Explanations:** Posting early, because why not. AR where all demigods have ADHD.

**Warnings:** Femslash. Mildly anti-Jeyna, but no bashing of them.

* * *

**Praetor and Probatio**

Reyna awoke covered in sweat. It could _not_ be normal to have dreams like that, she decided. On mornings like these, she was glad for privacy; she was sure her face was flushed, and the last thing she needed was to have inquiries thrown at her while she was getting dressed. It was too easy to strangle oneself with a toga.

_That's the third time,_ she realized. This was getting embarrassing. It just wasn't right! She _couldn't_ like someone younger than her. That would be inappropriate. If only they were the same age, Reyna could've dealed. But having a crush on a younger girl made her feel like some kind of pervert. Hazel was thirteen! Not to mention a probatio. She couldn't ask her out; it'd be way too creepy, like Octavian was coming onto her.

Reyna shuddered. If anyone was having erotic thoughts about_ her_, she wouldn't want to hear about it. She certainly wouldn't want them to ask her out. Sure, the whole camp knew she was a lesbian; Octavian had made sure of that. But not even Jason, her best friend, knew she was crushing on Hazel Levesque. Reyna had thought about telling him, maybe asking for his opinion since they were in the same cohort. Jason was a good listener, and as co-praetor, she could easily steal him away to talk privately without arousing suspicion. But she hadn't been able to do it, all the same.

She'd practiced bringing it up many times, in front of the mirror. "Hey, Jason, about Hazel—"

"I think you should know I—"

"I wanted to ask you about—"

In the end, she never spoke up. She didn't know how to talk about these things; the only person who could have taught her was Hylla, who was never a very emotionally-open person, and didn't think much of romantic entanglements anyway. Besides, Hylla was so brave, Reyna couldn't imagine she knew what it was like to be tongue-tied. Hylla would probably just assume it was a sexuality-related fear, and Reyna wouldn't know how to explain that it wasn't. She'd become comfortable with being gay. It was having a crush on a younger girl that was winding her up; she felt like she was supposed to nurture Hazel, play at being Hylla, so to speak.

An older sister figure wasn't supposed to crush on you, wasn't supposed to ask you out, and definitely wasn't supposed to have erotic dreams about you. Reyna knew that much. But she couldn't _help_ it. Hazel was nice, and pretty, and a brave fighter—all the things Reyna admired and valued in a person. She suspected Frank also liked Hazel, and she was worried that if she didn't act soon, she'd miss her window. And how awful would that be, losing to a boy? Her sister would scold her if she knew what a coward she was.

She sat at her desk, pretending to look over paperwork while she chewed her braid. She needed sugar or caffeine, or just something that would calm down her ADHD. She had work to do, and she couldn't do it if she continued to be distracted.

There was a knock from the door.

"Yes?" she called, spitting out her braid and straightening her shirt.

"It's Jason," a voice replied. "Can I come in?"

Reyna looked around her room. _It's been messier,_ she decided.

"Sure," she called back. "Door's open."

"Hey. So, I was trying to decide which photos to use in the new Camp rosters," Jason began.

"Hmm," Reyna murmured.

"And I'm done with most of them, but I was wondering," —he flipped through the folder he was carrying— "Which picture you wanted for—oh, Styx!" he cursed, as the papers slipped out and scattered on the floor.

"Sorry about this!" he said.

Reyna waved. "It's fine. Here, let me help."

They were just about done when Reyna found Hazel's picture. Jason moved to take it from her, but Reyna's grip tightened.

"Reyna?" Jason asked. "Can I have that back?"

Reyna blinked. "Oh—um, yeah. Sorry. Here you go," she said, and handed him the photo. "It's a—a good picture," she tried. "Who took it?"

"I did," Jason replied. "Reyna? Are you okay? Why are you looking at me like that?"'

Jason reached out his hand to touch Reyna's forehead. "You don't _feel_ feverish... Are you all right? You look like you just saw a ghost."

Reyna blushed. Involuntarily, her eyes flicked over to the picture in his hand. In that moment, he seemed to put it together.

"You like Hazel?" he asked.

Fast as a cobra, she clamped her hand down on his mouth, hard. She looked around, suddenly panicked that the all-omniscient Octavian had appeared. She released a breath, blushing at her own stupidity. _Of course Octavian's not around,_ she scolded herself. _Stop being paranoid._

_"Pipe down!"_ she hissed, and slowly removed her hand from his mouth.

"S-sorry," Jason stammered. "I didn't realize it was a secret."

"Of course it's a secret, you moron!" she snapped.

"Is—is Octavian blackmailing you again?"

Reyna blinked again, caught off guard. "No. Why?"

"Well, it's just—I thought you were comfortable with your sexuality now?"

_"Grace,"_ she growled, throwing a pillow at him. "This has nothing to do with me being gay!"

Now it was Jason's turn to be caught off-guard. "It doesn't?" he asked, surprised. "Then what—"

"She's thirteen, Jason!"

"So?" Jason replied, honestly perplexed.

"I CAN'T BE ATTRACTED TO _A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD,_ GRACE! Don't you understand how inappropriate that is?!"

"I don't get it. So you like Hazel. What's wrong with that?"

"She's my probatio! I'm a praetor! I have to set an _example_, I can't be a pervert!"

Jason clutched at his head, like she was giving him a headache. "I'm pretty sure she's pubescent, Vasquez. You're acting like she's ten, and you're thirty, or something. Calm down."

Reyna collasped back into her desk chair. "You don't get it..." she sighed. All this "being emotional" stuff was exhausting. No wonder Hylla never engaged in it.

"You're right, I don't." Jason responded. He ran his fingers through his hair distractedly. As a boy, romance was not his area of expertise. At least not the kind that involved girls. Jason was glad he didn't have Reyna's problems; relationship stuff seemed scary.

"You want me to talk to her for you?" he suggested at last.

Reyna's eyes widened. "NO! Yes. _Maybe_. I don't know." She resumed chewing her braid, only to spit it back out, and cleared her throat.

"What if she doesn't like me?" she asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Then she's a moron," Jason replied immediately.

Reyna glared. "She is not a moron! She's—she's—"

Jason chuckled. "Calm down, I'm just kidding. Mostly."

Reyna went on like she hadn't heard him. "What if she's _straight?" _

Jason walked over to Reyna, and put an arm around her. "Then you'll find someone else. But if you like her, you should tell her."

"Easy for you to say, Mr. Ladies-Man Jupiter."

Jason rolled his eyes, though he was gazing at her fondly. "I'm not my dad. Trust me, I know nothing about girls."

Reyna raised an eyebrow. A challenge.

"What?" Jason exclaimed. "I don't! But I know _you_," he continued. "And you're awesome. If you weren't—you know—I would—"

"Whoa there, hold on," Reyna said, raising her hands in protest. "I appreciate what you're saying, Grace. But _please_, don't tell me you'd ask me out. You're my best friend. We're like brothers. That's_ gross."_

"Brothers? But you're a—"

"Oh, shut up. You know what I mean."

Jason laughed, and ruffled her hair. "So you'll ask her out?"

Reyna rolled her eyes. "If it gets you out of my room, I'll propose. Now scram, Jason. I have work to do."

Jason grinned. "Yes, ma'am!" he stood up, giving her a salute and a mocking bow. With that, he made for the door, to leave Reyna alone with her paperwork.

Despite herself, she smiled. Jason was like the annoying brother she'd never had, but he was occasionally helpful. Maybe she could work up the nerve to talk to Hazel, after all.


End file.
